counting the moments
by KarakuRoku
Summary: ... literally. He did it every time. [RoxasXion]


Roxas was clueless.

Maybe it was because he was a blonde, or because he was... well, because he was Roxas. Either way the spiky-haired boy never understood a lot of things, even if he seemed to have it all. Friends, popularity, family, you name it. His life was like a rocket that kept soaring up to heights some people could never reach. Enemies were nonexistent. Everyone at school were on good terms with him. Even Seifer was, and they weren't even considered friends.

Roxas never bragged. He was content with how his simple life was and rather liked it that way. Even through all the constants, he was... just peachy.

There was one thing that irritated him though. Even through all his ups, he felt that something was wrong. Or missing. That was definitely the term he'd use for his situation.

Unfortunately, he didn't know what exactly made him feel lonely and why it was such a big deal to him. Everything was a blur every time he stopped to think about why he felt this way. He tried to talk to Axel, his so-called _all-knowing_ best friend, about it, and even he was just as clueless about how Roxas felt.

Roxas tried everything. Hanging out with friends a little more, spending more time with his family, he even tried asking out this girl - Kairi - but it didn't work out between the two, as they both only saw each other as friends. Plus there was that one evident fact that the redhead liked Roxas's cousin, Sora.

No matter what he did, the void in Roxas's Heart never disappeared.

As he thought things over, Roxas sighed and buried his face in his hands. Classes were over, yet his mind constantly nagged him senseless like a broken record. He could never escape his own conscience, so all he could do was try to ignore his stupid brain.

As Roxas took his bag got up to leave, a certain thing - more of person - had caught his eye.

A ravenette was at the corner of the room, scribbling down what seemed to be nonsense on the blank pages of her little notebook. Roxas raised a brow. What the heck was so special about scribbles? Why would she continue to do such a pointless task, even though classes were over?

Curiosity overwhelming his mind, Roxas made a move and walked to her side to take a peek at what she was drawing. Even with all the movements he made, the odd girl never looked up from her somewhat nonsensical drawings.

"... Hey," Roxas whispered slowly, expecting a reply or some action other than her repetitive hand, but nothing came from her. Not even a noise of reassurance to let him know that she heard him.

Roxas knew who she was. Her name was Xion, and they had classes in just about every subject together. But that was just about it. Everything else about her was a complete mystery. He assumed that Xion was practically invisible to the eyes of many, even his. Only today did Roxas realize all that and actually felt a little bad about ignoring her all this time.

As much as he wanted to know why she never caught his eye until now, he was pretty sure he wouldn't know the answer to that soon. So, expecting no reply to come sooner or later, he sighed and said a silent _'Goodbye'_ before he left her alone, thinking that her silence was just her way of saying _'leave me be.'_

But then of course, there was no way Roxas would be doing that.

* * *

"Bye Roxas!"

"See ya tomorrow Rox!"

"Hey, when ya need to listen to another song from them, just give me a call!"

And another day of senseless classes had gone, and everyone was saying their goodbye's to each other. Roxas waved at all of his friends and classmates as he got up and gathered his things. But once again, the familiar sight of an immobile girl was caught by his cobalt blue orbs, making him look over to where Xion was again. She was doing the same thing she'd done yesterday. It was like she never moved from the spot. She didn't even bother to say goodbye to someone. Or worse yet, no one even bothered to say goodbye to her. Doesn't she have any friends?

That was a question Roxas really didn't feel like asking. It seemed too... _personal._

Shaking every other thought away from his head, Roxas walked up to her again and smiled. "Um... Is it okay if I sat beside you?" he asked silently, not really wanting to bother her, but yet again, he received no reply. Maybe she wasn't the talkative type?

Sighing, he sat beside her anyway, and tried to take a peek at what she was scribbling. As expected, doodles covered the whole paper with no particular shape forming out of them. A little while later, Roxas got a little bored just at seeing the repetition of her movements. (And it usually took a lot for him to get bored!) So instead, he looked at the artist of the array of incoherent doodles and studied her. Tilting his head to get a better look, Roxas noticed that, even though he didn't get a clear look, Xion had pretty, sapphire blue eyes that darted to every direction as she drew. Roxas chuckled at this sight. She was so alert with her scribbling but at the same time, she seemed too stuck in her own little world.

Roxas was definitely not getting bored with watching her and only her.

* * *

Roxas prided himself on getting numbers memorized, especially the numbers on how many days elapsed on certain situations. Whenever someone would ask _'How many days left till my birthday?'_ or _'How long have we been friends?_' he could give them the exact number of days left or whatever they wanted as long as it involved numbers. He didn't even need to write it down. He memorized _everything._

So then it was no surprise when he suddenly started counting the number of days he'd spent with Xion alone in the classroom. Before he knew it, the blonde had already spent seven days with her, and no form of interaction between the two ever occured. It was the same everyday too. Roxas didn't really mind the lack of socialization, but he wanted to hear her voice at least once.

With nothing to do once again, Roxas leaned back on his chair and sighed. He looked at Xion as she drew some more and shook his head in disbelief. Really, how could someone stand being stared at for that long? Wasn't the feeling of being watched weird? Roxas would know himself. Girls had the tendency to stare at his gravity-defying hair.

Leaning back some more, he looked up at the ceiling. Maybe Xion really didn't want to talk to him? She never even spared him a glance as she worked. There was no stopping her and her imagination.

"Hey Roxas! We're going to buy sea salt ice cream! Want to go with us?" Hearing the words_ 'sea salt ice cream,' _Roxas had averted his attention to the door and saw his friend Axel and his brother Sora evidently waiting for him. Even though Roxas wanted to stay a little longer, what difference could a minute longer with Xion make? Looking at the odds, he had a one in a million chance to hear her speak.

"'Kay, I'm in." Roxas smiled gently at them after seeing their brightened up expressions, and was about to straighten himself up for him to stand properly... but ended up falling backwards instead.

"Oww..." Roxas groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. Fortunately, no serious injuries were inflicted on him, but his fall surely made his head hurt a little. He blinked his eyes open and saw a peculiar sight that he never expected to see.

Right in front of him was Xion, her hand extended towards him for her to offer her help. "You... alright?"

It took moments of staring before Roxas snapped out of his reverie and grabbed Xion's hand. "Um... yeah," he replied quietly, still in a daze at such an unusual sight. Was that really her talking? She sounded... cute. Unexpectedly cute. And the sound of her giggling and flashing a smiling was something just as stunning.

"That's good... I'm glad you're not hurt." With a smile still intact on her expression, she pulled him up before gathering up her things. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay Roxas?"

"Y-Yeah, definitely," Roxas answered as he nodded vigorously, and Xion smiled again. He really did like the sight of her happy. It was like seeing the sun in a rainy day/ And with the wave of a hand, Xion left the room with a half-dazed Roxas walking out moments after, the blonde still trying to comprehend what happened.

"Roxas, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!" His train of thought had broke immediately at the sound of Axel teasing him and Sora clapping and cheering as if they were celebrating something important. "So, what's her name? How long have you two been together? What's so special about her, hm?" It was like an interrogation. Roxas was the suspect, Axel was the detective and Sora was a witness. Roxas would've made a joke out of it by now, but he was still staring at the direction where Xion had left. A few minutes of silence hung over the trio of friends before Roxas smiled and placed a hand on his heart.

"That's what I want to find out too."

* * *

More days passed. Days turned to weeks. Then weeks turned to months. The more months that passed, the more Roxas felt the feeling that's been in his heart for so long ever so slowly dissipate. He was more outgoing and... he even smiled a lot. Everyone noticed this unexplainable change of behavior, but people liked this side of Roxas. He was more open, more comfortable and somehow happier. Everyone thought that Sora was just rubbing off of him, but the blonde knew that there was only one reason that he was this way.

And he had yet to thank her for almost filling the empty hole in his chest.

* * *

"Roxas, look what Naminè taught me to draw today!"

At the sound of the all too familiar voice, Roxas looked up from his homework and glanced at his right to see a grinning Xion holding up the same notebook she's had since forever. On it was a drawing of a couple walking by the beach, picking up shells as they did so. At this, Roxas smiled at her improvement in art and seeing her ecstatic behavior. Still keeping count with the days, Roxas remembered that it's exactly been 171 days since they met. He found himself grinning at how many days they've known each other already.

"Keep it up Xi. If you do, you'll be better than your sister in no time," Roxas insisted and gave her a thumbs up.

At his words, Xion's eyes widened in shock before she started to chuckle nervously and shook her head in disapproval. "Nah, I can't be better than Naminè. She's my older sister. Whatever she excelled at, I'll only be second best."

Resisting the urge to run a hand through his face, Roxas sighed in disbelief at Xion's display of lacking self-esteem. It was basically the main reason why the ravenette was so closed-off from everyone when they first met. She was a shy wallflower, unable to see how wonderful she could possibly be and just kept her broad imagination to herself. "Just this once Xion. Stop being such a pessimist and believe in yourself. You're _you_, and you're just as special as anyone, especially to me. Even if I haven't met her, I know there are things you have that Naminè doesn't."

At this, Xion's expression became livid. Roxas knew that the ravenette loved her sister dearly, and the fact that she never liked to back talk about her sister was one thing that proved so. Realizing that Roxas was just trying to encourage her, Xion calmed down slightly and bowed her head down low. "Thanks a lot for everything Roxas but... I don't even know what I have that she doesn't. I love my sister, but I know I can't be as perfect as her."

Roxas almost had to gape at Xion's words. Those weren't true! No one was perfect at all. Everyone had their share of flaws, but why did Xion have to be so hard on herself. If... if only she could see that she certainly was special, and stopped thinking that she was no one special...

He fixed his gaze on her, this time looking at Xion right at the eye, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She spared a glance at it before looking away and placing one hand on his. Her hand was warm and fragile, and Roxas could feel it quiver slightly. He stared at her with pleading eyes, as if to say_ 'You are special. Please, just believe me.'_ Roxas never wanted to see her hurt, he really didn't.

"I know." Before he could stop it, words he never quite meant to say flew out of his mouth, and Xion looked at him inquisitively. He really didn't know what he was talking about, or what he was about to do, but it was worth a shot. "I know what you have that Naminè doesn't."

Xion blinked once, twice, then thrice. She was clearly confused, and leaned in closer towards him with a hopeful look. "W-What..?"

Roxas replied without hesitation. "My heart."

And just like that, he captured her lips in his.

* * *

A happy couple walked down the quiet park's winding road hand in hand, smiling fondly at each other as comfortable silence blanketed them both. The spiky-haired blonde man brushed some of her raven locks away from her face before kissing her forehead lightly, making the ravenette giggle slightly in response.

They strolled over to an ice cream stand and bought two bars of sea salt ice cream. Despite the cold weather, they didn't mind having a treat that was just as cold. It was something they both cherished, just like each other.

The couple then walked over to the nearest bench they saw and sat on it together. While licking her own ice cream, the woman then raised her hand up and admired the beautiful diamond ring that shone almost proudly on her fourth finger before smiling again at her fiancé.

"Hey Roxas."

"Hm?"

"How long have we been together?"

Roxas cracked a smile. He may have admitted in the past that he was such a perfectionist at keeping track of his numbers. But for once, he regretted nothing as he said there words:

"I've already lost count."

And just like that, the hole in his heart was gone.

* * *

**Welp, I have updated this, and other than that ****_one scene I completely forgot to add in_****, I am quite happy with this now. Hope you all enjoyed this!**

**Standard disclaimer applies**


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